1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a vehicle panel structure, and in particular to a vehicle panel structure that includes a core layer and a reinforcement layer made of a polypropylene/fiberglass material to provide dimensional stability to the vehicle panel structure while reducing the thickness and weight of the vehicle panel structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle panel, such as a headliner, is designed to meet or exceed requirements for dimensional stability when exposed to temperatures of 160° C. over a 24-hour time period. To achieve the requirements for dimensional stability, one or more reinforcement layers are included in the design of a conventional vehicle panel, such as a headliner. Unfortunately, one problem associated with conventional vehicle panels with one or more reinforcement layers to achieve the necessary dimensional stability requirements is that the reinforcement layers is bulky and unnecessarily increases the thickness and weight associated with the vehicle panel.